Quickie: Was it a bad bottle or a bad taster?

At dinner the other night a group of us shared, among other things, a bottle of Ornellaia 1997 and a Hutcheson vintage Port (1978).  For those of you who don't read Italian, I was sort of dismissive of the Ornellaia, which seemed too vegetal and green to me.  Commenters to the post just prior to this one have been curious as to why the wine tasted this way, suggesting all sorts of problems with storage, serving, etc.  (I repeat some of this in case the comments were in Italian.)  To a man, they have had celestial -- or at least really good -- experiences with this wine.

Anyway, I have to say that I really don't believe the bottle was to blame.  It had been stored well, it was served adequately.  And the other four at table loved the Ornellaia, even someone who doesn't usually drink red.  (This lady is a good friend of Mrs. Thienpont, so she does get to drink what I might call "super-Pomerols" from time to time.  An experienced palate.)

So.  To what do we attribute this astonishing discordance of experience with Ornellaia?  To my defective palate?  To my inoperative olfactory apparatus?  I don't really think so.  My sense of smell is like a dog's, and my palate is fairly reliable. 

No, dear friends, I fear it's my head. 

Be that as it may, has anyone among you experienced a similar discordance between the reputation of a wine and the actual tasting of it?  Have you been shocked by the mediocrity of the wine -- or, conversely, by the fineness of it despite reviews to the contrary?  I sometimes feel that we need to cut through the received opinions and the bullshit of the wine world and tell what we have found, without the hedging and hemming that so often accompanies a wine that disappoints or that simply fails to live up to hype.

Comments

[Richard]

This has happened to me. I once had Joseph Phelps Insignia at a free wine store tasting. While it was good, I didn't think it could ever justify a $125/$150 price. I think I had lofty expectations of it, knowing its reputation and price before hand.

[David]

I agree with you completely. Having lived just west of Franciacorta I love Amarone and have had the opportunity to taste numerous producers, including home spun varieties.

Recently I was with some friends and they pulled an Amarone, I will not disclose the year or producer, that was rated incredibly high by both the experts and the magazines. Since I am telling you about it you can imagine I was not impressed, not in the least, I would not have paid 10$ for the bottle, but my friends were ecstatic.

[Fredric Koeppel]

ah, David, you should disclose the year and producer of that Amarone so we can avoid it!
I think that a great deal of how we approach a wine (not tasted blind) has to do with reputation and anticipation. And it's certainly true that people can be swayed by those aspects: "Wow, I'm drinking BV Private Reserve 1974 (or Latour 1982 or Ornellaia '97), so it MUST be good!" But there are so many variables of age, storage, bottle variation and so on that disappointment is sometimes inevitable. And then there's the matter of ingrained and corporate taste, as at the Wine Spectator, where chardonnays from highly regarded and expensive cult labels receive top scores yet some people (moi) find them undrinkable becauase of high alcohol, over-ripe fruit and too much oak. Same thing with pinot noir and cabernet.
The point is to somehow remain (paradoxically) tolerant yet skeptical.

[Terry Hughes]

Yeah, David, don't be afraid to diss!

Seriously, this is an interesting and useful thread. I hope there's more discussion on this topic.